May 25 (UPI) — As residents of Montana’s at-large congressional district decide who to send to Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Republican candidate Greg Gianforte’s chances hang in the balance over an altercation he had with a reporter that resulted in an assault charge.
Residents began voting in the special election on Thursday, which asks them to choose among Gianforte, Democrat Rob Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Gianforte held a single-digit lead over Quist in recent polling data, but the race is far from assured, because the data has also shown strong support for the Democratic challenger.
Gianforte’s prospects might take a hit, though, after he was cited Wednesday for misdemeanor assault stemming from a scuffle in which the candidate purportedly “body slammed” a reporter asking a question.
In an audio recording published by Britain’s The Guardian, political reporter Ben Jacobs is heard asking Gianforte about Wednesday’s Congressional Budget Office score of the new American Health Care Act, which the candidate supports.
“We’ll talk to you about that later,” Gianforte said, to which Jacobs replied, “Yeah, but there’s not going to be time. I’m just curious about it right now.”
After Gianforte told Jacobs to ask his spokesman, there’s the sound of a scuffle and Gianforte shouting.
“I’m sick and tired of you guys! The last guy that came in here did the same thing,” the candidate is heard saying. “Get the hell out of here! Get the hell out of here! The last guy did the same thing. Are you with The Guardian?”
“You just body slammed me and broke my glasses,” Jacobs said moments later.
Gianforte’s campaign said Jacobs was the aggressor in the incident and grabbed the candidate’s wrist before they both fell to the ground.
Multiple Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, have called on Gianforte to apologize. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has also denounced Gianforte’s actions.
“That is wrong and should not have happened,” Ryan said Thursday. “I do not think this is acceptable behavior.”
“Donald Trump is his model,” Pelosi said. “That was outrageous.”
Also Wednesday, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence recorded robocalls urging voters not to let the Democrats take their seat. In the House, Democrats are just 24 seats shy of a majority and the party said winning in these special elections would be a great step toward that goal.
